MOSCOW, May 27 (Reuters) – Ukraine attacked pipeline facilities deep inside Russia on Saturday with a series of drone strikes, including at a station servicing the vast Druzhba pipeline that sends crude from western Siberia to Europe. , according to Russian media.
Ukrainian drone strikes inside Russia have increased in intensity in recent weeks, and the New York Times reported that US intelligence believes Ukraine was behind a drone attack on the Kremlin earlier this month.
Ukraine has not publicly acknowledged launching attacks against targets inside Russia. Ukraine’s Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
In the Tver region, which is just northwest of Moscow, two drones attacked a station serving the Druzhba (Friendship) oil pipeline, one of the world’s largest oil pipelines, the Kommersant newspaper said.
The Tver local council said a drone crashed near the town of Erokhino, some 500 km (310 miles) from the Ukrainian border.
The Baza Telegram channel, which has good sources among Russia’s security services, said the drones attacked a station that services the Druzhba pipeline.
The Soviet-built Druzhba has the capacity to pump more than 2 million barrels per day (bpd) but has been severely underutilized after Europe tried to reduce its reliance on Russian energy after President Vladimir Putin sent troops to Ukraine last year.
Russian pipeline operator Transneft (TRNF_p.MM) said earlier this month that a fill point in Druzhba in a Russian region bordering Ukraine had been attacked.
In the Pskov region of western Russia, two drones triggered an explosion that damaged an oil pipeline administration building, local governor Mikhail Vedernikov said. The incident occurred near the town of Litvinovo, less than 10 km (6 miles) from Russia’s border with Belarus.
“Provisionally, the building was damaged as a result of an attack by two UAVs,” Vedernikov said.
He said that there were no victims and that an operational group was working on the site that would deliver the final conclusions.
In a separate incident, a construction worker was killed near the Ukrainian border in the Kursk region due to Ukrainian shelling, the local governor said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the reported attacks.
Written by Alexander Marrow in London and Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow Edited by Frances Kerry
Our standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
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